babies have a lot of health issues because their hearts and lungs are not fully developed. She is even writing a book on pediatric stroke, looking at the rehabilitation of infants and children who have suffered this kind of brain injury. As much as Dr. Nixon-Cave loves being a physical therapist, she says, it can be tough sometimes because you are not always going to be successful. “I have had patients who die and patients who don’t get better,” she says. The most challenging situation is when a parent asks if their child will ever be able to walk and Dr. Nixon-Cave knows the child probably won’t. “I never say they won’t walk. I say, ‘Let’s think about what the child can do.’” But many patients thrive. Once she treated a 3-year-old boy with spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the spine. He needed a wheelchair, but the insurance company wouldn’t provide one for him because he was too small. She borrowed a wheelchair for the child to prove to the insurance company that he could use it. She then wrote to the company on his behalf. The boy ended up with a sporty wheelchair, and it changed his life. He could play with other children. It’s such moments that make Dr. Nixon-Cave believe physical therapy is a wonderful profes- sion. Physical therapists can work with many types of people, from athletes to dancers and the elderly. They can create their own practice, set their own hours, and go everywhere. She encourages students to pursue their education. It’s “everything. No matter what is going on, no one can take it away from you,” she says. “It will open doors that you can’t imagine are available to you.” —By Healthy Saint staff St. Martin de Porres Catholic School 21 Illustration by Izabella Guerreonero, East Norriton Bulldog Bulletin